The Department of Homeland Security's Media Monitoring Initiative gives federal agents the power to gather, store, analyze and disseminate data on millions of users of social media including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. This is unconstitutional as it violates the Fourth Amendment and its prohibition on warrant-less searches. It also violates our right to free speech.

This is another instance of the federal government slowly taking away our liberties. We can only hope that in 2012, an educated electorate will select candidates for election to Congress who will pass a law permanently revoking the Department of Homeland Security's power to carry out the mission as outlined in the Media Monitoring Initiative.